www.adventist.org

Basic History
The Seventh-day Adventist Church has its doctrinal roots in the Advent Awakening' movement of the 1840's when hundreds of thousands of Christians became convinced from their study of Bible prophecy that Christ would soon return. This re-awakening of a neglected Biblical belief occurred in many countries, with a major focus in North America.

After the great disappointment' of their hopes in 1844, these "advent believers" broke up into a number of different groups. One group, studying their Bibles for increased understanding, recognized the seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday) as the day of worship. This group that included Ellen and James White and Joseph Bates became the nucleus of the church congregations that chose the name Seventh-day Adventist Church' and organized in Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1863, with 125 churches and 3,500 members.

Adventist missionaries began work outside of North America in 1874, when J.N. Andrews was sent to Switzerland. In 1890, an Adventist minister began working in Russia, while in 1894 Church operations commenced in Africa (Ghana and South Africa). Missionaries also arrived in South America in 1894, and in Japan in 1896. Today, the Church operates in 205 countries worldwide.

Deeply committed to improving quality of life, Adventists run the largest unified Protestant school system in the world, educating more than one million students in 5,590 schools; provide humanitarian and development aid in 120 countries; run a unique youth mentoring program, called Pathfinders, for 975,000 youth; publish books, magazines, and literature in 310 languages from 57 publishing houses; own 27 health food companies manufacturing cereals, soy protein products, and other healthful foods; and operate 600 hospitals and health care facilities.

Basic Beliefs
The name Seventh-day Adventist highlights beliefs that reflect two core Christian values important to the Church. The second coming (or "advent") of Jesus expresses the vital hope of the Church; the seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday) emphasizes the Biblical day of worship of the Creator and Savior of the world.

The Holy Scriptures are seen as a road map to help believers learn and understand more about Jesus Christ and follow his teachings individually and corporately.

Adventists believe that Jesus is one of three persons--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit--called the Trinity, who make up one God. They made salvation possible when Jesus came to earth as a baby in Bethlehem, lived a perfect life in accordance with the Father's will, died for the sins of the people of the world, and arose from the dead on the third day.

Following Christ's example, Adventists believe in baptism by immersion to symbolize forgiveness of sin, union with Christ, and reception of the Holy Spirit. Communion services of foot washing, bread, and wine commemorate a commitment to serving others, as emblems of the body and blood of Christ, and as an expression of faith in him as Lord and Savior.

Leadership
There are 12 world divisions of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In every division, clusters of churches create conferences, and clusters of conferences create unions. Every level of the church is led by ministry specialists and administrators who are periodically elected by members.

World President - Jan Paulsen; North American Division President - Don Schneider. Both were elected in July 2000 at the 57th Adventist World Session to serve five-year terms. The Church will convene its next constituency meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, in 2005.